today," plugged up. the blown-out bp well that caused the largest oil spill in u.s. history is finally declared dead. home sweet home. an american hiker jailed in iran for more than a year speaks out. and house arrest. actor randy quaid and his wife in hot water again. actor randy quaid and his wife in hot water again. this time, accus of squatting. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning, i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with mission finally accomplished. bp says a permanent seal is now in place on its blown-out well at the bottom of the gulf of mexico.

however, killing the catastrophic well off is a bittersweet victory for gulf coast residents, who fear they'll be battling the effects of the nation's worst environmental disaster for years to come. nbc's jay greg has our report. >> reporter: it began april 20th with a massive fireball and deadly flames cutting through the night air. as the deepwater horizon rig exploded, then collapsed, 11 lives were lost. and oil began to seep into the gulf, the start of the worst spill in u.s. history. now, 154 days later, government scientists say the final seal, 74 barrels of cement, is holding tight, and that the well will never leak again. president obama acknowledged the work that's been done and perhaps the more difficult job that lies ahead, in a written statement which says, in part, we will continue to work closely with the people of the gulf to rebuild their livelihoods and restore the environment that supports them.

my administration will see our communities, our businesses, and our fragile ecosystems through this difficult time. difficulties that continue to wash up along the gulf coast. cleanup teams fight every day at plaquemines parish, but it seems right now, the oil is winning the battle there. >> we can't fix this on our own. we can't rebuild this on our own. we need -- we need help from the whole country, i mean, really. we need everybody. >> reporter: help they may need for years here. jay gray, nbc news, venice, louisiana. well, freed american hiker sarah shourd spoke out yesterday in defense of her fiance and a friend, both still captive in iran, calling their arrest and detention a quote, huge misunderstanding. shourd's comments were carefully constructed and timed to coincide with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad's visit to new york to address the u.n. general assembly.

nbc's brian moore has the story. >> reporter: sarah shourd is back on american soil. no longer an iranian prisoner, but still living a nightmare. >> and i stand before you today only one-third free. >> reporter: iran is preparing to try her fiance shane bauer and their hiking companion josh fattal, 13 months after the three were arrested near the iran/iraq border. >> we committed no crime, and we are not spies. >> reporter: reading a prepared statement, shourd thanked the religious and political leaders in iran for her release. >> the only thing that enabled me to cross the gulf from prison to freedom alone was the knowledge that shane and josh wanted, with all their hearts, for my suffering to end. >> reporter: and for their mothers, the vigil continues. >> i love him so much, and i want you home for his father, for his brother, for his grandparents. >> reporter: they are hoping to meet with iranian president

mahmoud ahmadinejad, in new york for meetings with the general assembly. he hints a prisoner exchange may be possible. >> translator: so i believe that it would not be displaced to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture. >> reporter: one family reunited, while two others hold out hope. brian moore, nbc news, washington. disturbing details revealed in yesterday's "washington post." uncover a shocking story of rogue members of one u.s. army platoon randomly targeting and killing afghan civilians for sport. according to military documents, and interviews, the newspaper reported five members of the unit staged killings in kandahar province while seven others have been charged with crimes related to the case. apparently what started as a mock war game waged against one afghan man led to the unprovoked murder of at least three other people over several months. other charges filed allege soldiers dismembered and

photographed corpses, used illegal drugs, tried to interfere with the investigation, and assaulted one private who blew the whistle on the attacks. the accused soldiers reportedly deny any wrongdoing. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in utah crews are working to contain a fast-moving fire that allegedly broke out at a machine gun range during a training exercise prompting the evacuation of over 1,000 homes. so far, there are no reports of fatalities or injuries, though one woman was treated for smoke inhalation. in new jersey, crews worked to clean up thousands of rotting fish that washed up at a local beach. it's not clear what caused the massive fish kill, but low oxygen levels could be to blame. the department of environmental protection is investigating. and in louisiana, local artists and celebrities came together for a unique fundraising project. turning shin-high shrimp boots into works of art.

over 40 uniquely designed boots, including one signed by saints head coach, and a boot designed by nbc's own hoda kotb will be raffled off, and proceeds will go to the victims of the oil spill. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. i'll be happy when today is over with. because we'll be done with hurricane igor, we'll actually get a break in the tropics. it's been a very active period. last night bermuda got hit pretty hard. the storm is now pulling away. this is what it looked like when the center of the storm came over the island late yesterday afternoon, during the evening hours. they had a lot of hurricane force gusts. this is a long duration storm for bermuda. i don't think the destruction is going to be that bad. but a lot of people lost power on the island. huge, huge storm is now exiting. we're just about done with it, too. still a category 1 hurricane and it's going to quickly pull away

from the island and race out into the open atlantic. it will bring some rain in extreme eastern canada, but that's about it. the storm is just about over with. so as far as the forecast goes for today, there goes igor. and the nation's kind of split. the southeast, the deep south, very hot. still feels like summer out there. some record highs are possible. there's a cooler air mass that has settled over the great lakes and new england. so it's definitely a split forecast. you can see chicago, 75. atlanta, 91. so we're still in the 90s from texas to florida. more or less in the late summer/fall air mass as you'd expect from chicago, detroit, all the way into areas of the east. but it's quiet today. not a lot of wet weather. that's a look at your monday forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. sunshine, another 90 degree day possible in raleigh, north carolina. houston today, very warm. we had a lot of heavy rain over the weekend in south texas. that should slowly improve today. some showers in the forecast.

lynn, we'll sneak in to fall this week. give you the forecast coming up. >> it's here. all right, bill, thank you. remember the phrase, as gm goes, so goeses nation? well, a big part of the company may be bought by the chinese government. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus perpetual troublemakers paris hilton and lindsay lohan spend the weekend weaving their way through legal issues. >> another rough outing for brett favre, redskins and texans need overtime and a remarkable grab by randy moss. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning. as the ballots are counted in this weekend's afghan parliamentary elections, observers of the vote are questioning its legitimacy. they're concerned about numerous fraud complaints. also, it appears some afghans were scared away by violence that killed 11.

preliminary results are not expected until october. a wave of attacks across iraq yesterday killed at least 36 people. it marked the worst violence there since the u.s. formally declared an end to combat operations. and in california, actor randy quaid and his wife are facing burglary charges after apparently being caught living in a house they haven't owned for years. officials say the couple insisted they still own the home. but documents prove that wasn't the case. this was the couple's second serious brush with the law in the past year. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,607, after adding 13 points on friday. the s&p was up a fraction. the nasdaq gained 12. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei climbed 116 points while in hong kong the hang seng edged up 6. this week, wall street investors will be hoping some kind of boost from the federal

reserve will provide a turning point for markets mired in uncertainty. what steps, if any, will fed chief ben bernanke and company take to help jump-start the struggling economic recovery when they meet tuesday on interest rates? they could lower rates or make other moves to stimulate the economy. but with recent upbeat data, including stronger than expected private sector job growth, most analysts don't expect major moves. still, positive comments alone could spark market confidence. it's a big week ahead for readings on the state of the nation's housing market. new and existing home sales, along with new home construction, are expected to rise but look for both permits for future home construction and home prices to fall. this week we'll also get quarterly earnings reports from companies such as bed, bath & beyond, discover financial, nike, and general mills. speaking of, general mills, the company refused to comment sunday on a report it's considering a $1.5 billion bid

for the french yogurt maker ymplt oplait. elsewhere, no comment from gm, and the treasury department on reports gm is in talks with its current partner in china about buying a stake in the company. saic is owned by the chinese government. an indian conglomerate is reportedly in discussions about buying the struggling film studio metro goldwyn-mayer for $2 billion. and finally, in a sign parents are still cutting back on nonessential spending in england, news that children's weekly pocket money has fallen to a seven-year low there. well, peyton faces eli. a redskins kicker gets frozen, and bet favre saves the wrong team. plus randy moss makes an inyesterdayible one-handed catch. but was it enough to help the patriots slide past the jets? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and in weather this week, we

go from summer to fall but it's not going to feel like it. your monday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." tax on everything you buy?

that's in andy harris' unfair tax plan.

23% sales tax. a 23% sales tax will cut my business in half. would be devastating. andy harris' 23% sales tax absolutely makes no sense. 23% sales tax would really make things unaffordable. that's too high for the average american out here. i don't know how we would manage it really. don't like that idea. we can't afford andy harris' idea. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message. good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports when it comes to tough sibling rivalries, try being peyton manning's little brother.

here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. peyton manning took it to his little brother eli as the colts led from start to finish. mom and dad on hand to see their boys play. indy up 14-0, peyton threw three touchdowns. tough for eli, sacked and fumbled in the third, colts recovered in the end zone. nothing went right for the giants. indy won in a rout 38-14. jets and pats, play of the game turned in by randy moss. moss hauled it in with a remarkal one-handed grab. one more time. moss made it look so easy. but after that it was all new york. mark sanchez threw a career high three touchdowns. jets upset the patriots 28-14. great finish between the texans, redskins. shaw scrambles, to johnson in the end zone. that forced over time. redskins with a chance to win. a 52-yard field goal. game over, right?

wrong. houston called a time-out just before he kicked it. wouldn't you know, his second attempt shanked. texans ice the kicker and it actually worked. moments later houston completed the comeback. texans rallied from 17 down to win it 30-27 in o.t. the eagles michael vick made his first start since 2006. the eagles held on to beat the lions 35-32. another forgettable day for brett favre. the dolphins picked him off three times. the ball batted around, never touched the ground, and miami came up with it. vikings lost again 14-10. and finally a great catch to show you from the bruins ryan braun. ross hit one down the line in left. braun robbed ross of a home run. the coach called it one of the best catches he's ever seen. i have to agree. giants won it. that's your look at sports on "early today." a giant upset at the box office this weekend. your early morning entertainment

headlines are straight ahead. plus, they're in the prime of their life, and showing it off for a good cause.

welcome back on this monday morning. temperatures are going to be very warm from denver to kansas city, st. louis, all the way back down through the southern half of the country. still feels like the middle of summer with highs in the 9os.

much cooler minneapolis, chicago, great lakes into new england. feels like fall with highs in the 70s. the country's a little split right now. we will warm it up in chicago on tuesday up to 88. a lot of dry weather this week. not going to be a lot of big storms affecting anyone. more or less just a temperature forecast. if you're watching us on wnbw, that's channel 9, gainesville, florida, learn how insects help solve crimes through hands-on activities, educational panels and mock investigations. csi: crime scene insects at the florida museum of natural history. and that's your "early today" event of the day. >> all right, bill, thank you. now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. this weekend's underdog box office winner completely fooled all the experts. ben affleck's heist thriller "the town" shocked the industry, stealing away with the number one spot, opening with almost $24 million. rave reviews helped the drama make off with roughly $10 million more than most experts predicted. on the other hans the comedy

"easy a" underperformed opening in second place with just over $18 million. the horror film "devil" rounded out the top three with just over $1.5 million. elsewhere over the weekend lindsay lohan confirmed herself via twitter that she has failed a court-ordered drug test which could mean more jail time for the 24-year-old actress. and finally, turns out it must have been paris hilton's purse after all. in exchange for pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of drug possession and obstructing an officer, hilton will get no jail time. she must complete a drug program and pay a $2,000 fine and serve 200 hours of community service. >> now, lynn, if they -- someone put together a show with lindsay and paris, the reality show, would you watch? >> do you watch train wrecks? i mean, you know. i would hate to say that i would, but, you know, it's like, just falling apart. and this comes to us from whdh,

7 news in boston, massachusetts. where a group of golden girls are the newest calendar girls. the ladies bore it all for the sake of charity in a calendar photo shoot. the group, with an age range between 63 and 97 say they're thrilled to be selected over dozens of other recruits in their retirement community, but say they're even more excited to have the support of their biggest fans, their families. i love these ladies. >> it's very tasteful and very lovely. >> it's great, right? i mean -- >> yeah. >> if you got it, flaunt it. >> it was artistic, too. >> creative. >> very creative. >> i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

>> good monday morning, everyone. i'm tony pann. we're off to a quiet start. we actually had a front go through a couple of hours ago, but we don't expect any rain for the monday morning commute. the temperatures, mild, low to mid 60's. near 70 downtown. it's 71 at the maryland science center. 62 in parkton. the forecast for today, mostly sunny skies. we'll probably see a little cloud cover hanging around, but generally sunny, a little breezy, but nice with a high temperature in the upper 70's. when we come back, we'll check the seven-day forecast. >> tony, thank you. the time now, 4:57, 66 degrees on tv hill. here's a look ahead to 11 news today.

>> the ravens and the orioles had games this weekend, and that translates to big bucks for local businesses. i'm kim dacey. i'll explain, straight ahead. >> president obama defending his economic plan, drumming up votes, and hoping to get his message into your living room. i'm kate ma'am ar ain washington to explain. >> and sarah caldwell tag a look at your morning commute. right now, looking pretty good. we'll fill you in on traffic we'll fill you in on traffic pulse 11.

[captioning made possible by constellation energy] >> good monday morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> meteorologist tony pann has a check of the forecast. pretty nice weekend. >> yeah, turned out to be nice. a little warmer yesterday, temperatures in the low 80's. today we're going to dip back into the setchts, but still nice. we had a couple go through a couple of hours ago.